


hashkiveinu (lay us down)

by orphan_account



Series: appelle-moi par ton nom (call me by your name) [12]
Category: Call Me By Your Name (2017) RPF
Genre: Angry Armie Hammer, Angst, Cute Timothée Chalamet, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Family Drama, Fluff, Lullabies, M/M, Mother-Son Relationship, Religion, Sweet, with good reason
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-09
Updated: 2021-01-09
Packaged: 2021-03-13 13:01:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 965
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28653921
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Armie gets an upsetting call. Timmy tries to make him feel better.
Relationships: Timothée Chalamet/Armie Hammer
Series: appelle-moi par ton nom (call me by your name) [12]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2087184
Comments: 1
Kudos: 17





	hashkiveinu (lay us down)

After months of silence, Armie received an unexpected call from his mother later that evening. He was scrolling through the news app on his phone when his mom’s face and number flashed across the screen. 

“Shit!” He whispered and scrambled to turn down the volume as the sonorous voices of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir sang “Amazing Grace” at full blast. He left his phone at full volume in case anyone needed to get in touch with him throughout the day, a terrible habit that he resolved to break as soon as he could.

Beside him, Timothée moaned and rolled over to face the side wall. Armie felt a wave of despair and slowly slipped out of bed. He swiped the screen to the right and held it up to his ear. “Hey, Mom. How’s it going?”

On the other end, his mother laughed wryly. “How’s it going?’ What a question! What is this ‘it’ that people speak of? I guess ‘it’s’ going pretty well for me. I wonder if my daughter-in-law and grandchildren can say the same?”

Armie groaned and pressed his hand to his forehead. By the time this call ended, he knew he was going to need a stiff drink and/or a tranquilizer of some sort to deal with the headache he could feel already starting to form. “Jesus, Mom…”

“Praise His name!” Armie sighed and rolled his eyes so far back into his head that he grunted in pain. “Mooom…”

“Armand Douglas Hammer! I’ll thank you not to take that snippy tone with me. I suppose you think that because you’re so popular and successful in worldly matters, you can treat your elders with disrespect. Even your own mother! I shouldn’t be surprised; you have abandoned your wife and your own children! Mr. Hotshot Hollywood Actor, lapping up the praise and adulation of sycophantic strangers while ignoring your own family.”

“Mom, that’s not what happened. Elizabeth and I are still technically married -”

“Oh, technically. I guess that makes it okay, then.”

“...and I went to spend time with them during the holidays. Besides, we’ve been separated for almost six months now. Are you seriously trying to tell me that you somehow just now found out?”

“Well, it’s not as if you ever call me to let me know what’s going on in your life. But to answer your question, no, I didn’t ‘just now’ find out. I have known, ever since it happened. It was quite a shock, let me tell you. Armie, honey, I wish you had confided in me when you and Elizabeth were having problems. We could have prayed about it. We could have saved your marriage! You don’t seem to understand the difficulty you’ve put me in. How can I hope to provide Biblical counsel to anyone when my own son refuses to heed it?”

“Oh, so that’s what this is about. That’s why you just randomly called me out of the blue, after eight months of silence. This isn’t about me, or Elizabeth, or the kids at all. All that matters is how it reflects on you.”

“No, Armie, this is about how your actions reflect on the LORD. I know you’re an adult, that you don’t have to pay lip service to Him anymore. But above all else, you should strive to live your life to please God. It’s a shame that you love human praise more than praise from God.”

“Mom, I’m sorry, but you caught me at a really bad time. I’ll talk to you later, okay? I love you.” Armie held down the power button until his phone turned off. He sniffled and took a deep breath that ended with a choking sob.

“Armie?” Timothée moaned sleepily and slowly turned toward him. “Why are you up? Did you have a nightmare?”

Armie snorted and got back in bed. “No, Timmy. Nothing like that. I just got a phone call...from my mother.”

 _“Merde!”_ Timothée groaned and reached over to touch Armie’s cheek. _“Je suis désolé, mon amour. Que puis-je faire?”_

Armie hummed sadly. He turned his head aside and kissed Timothée’s wrist. “Thanks, baby. I don’t know what you just said, but I like the way it sounded. It’s Mom, though, so I can imagine.” He whimpered and kissed him, his fingers tight on Timothée’s arms, his lips hard and gruff as his pulse thrummed in his throat.

“I can’t,” Armie murmured beside Timothée’s ear. “I can’t handle this right now.” He kissed him again, deeply, blocking his air until Timothée touched his chest and gently pushed against him.

“Mm. Whoa, sorry. Armie…” Timothée brushed his cheek with his knuckles. His hand was warm in the chilly air. "Let’s lay down for a minute. Come here.” He spread his arms and Armie scooted towards him. Armie loved the feel of Timothée’s hand at his back, the heat of his body so close to him.

Suddenly, Timothée began to sing, a low, lilting song in Hebrew:

_"Hashkiveinu Adonai, Eloheinu l’shalom  
V’haamideinu malkeinu l’chayim…”_

“Wow. Timmy, that’s freaking beautiful. I was almost sorry to interrupt, but I have to know what it means. Do you wanna enlighten me?”

Timothée huffed and flicked Armie’s nose in mock irritation. “Alright, alright. If you say so. You know, it loses a little of its magic when you translate it into English. It’s been a while since I heard the translation, but I think it’s something like, _‘Lay us down, O God, in peace, and raise us up again, O King, to life anew. Spread over us the protection of your peace,’_ etc.”

“Peace and life anew, huh? I could use some of that.” He took a deep, shaky breath. “Sing it again for me?”

“Okay.” Timothée kissed Armie’s forehead. He sang softly until Armie’s eyelids drifted closed.

**Author's Note:**

> Translation:  
>  _"Merde!_ \----->"Shit!"  
>  _“Je suis désolé, mon amour. Que puis-je faire?”----- >"I'm sorry, my love. What can I do?"_
> 
> Knowing jack shit about her, other than that she is ostensibly very conservative and very Christian, and also that she was a little disapproving of her son's choice to become an actor, and to act in films such as CMBYN, I hope that I have not reduced Armie's mother to a one-dimensional caricature. Some of the things she says and the way she says them are taken verbatim from conversations I have heard from family members.
> 
> "Hashkiveinu" is a traditional Jewish prayer and lullaby used in some Friday night Shabbat services. The English translation is my own and therefore somewhat lacking and more of a paraphrase than a real translation.


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